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From DailyKos
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/19/2175889/-The-Reddit-blackout-explained-Why-thousands-of-subreddits-are-protesting-third-party-app-charges [dailykos.com]

Thousands of Reddit discussion forums have gone dark this week to protest a new policy that will charge some third-party apps to access data on the site, leading to worries about content moderation and accessibility.

“Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself)," multiple subreddits wrote in posts seen on the platform's homepage this week. The new fees are part of broader changes to Reddit's API, or application programming interface, that the company announced recently...

  WHAT IS API? AND HOW IS REDDIT CHANGING ACCESS TO THIRD-PARTY APPS?
In short, an API allows computer programs to communicate with each another. Third parties have used Reddit's free API access in the past, for example, to request data and build apps that work with the platform.
But Reddit announced it would be changing its API access polices earlier this year. Starting July 1, Reddit plans to charge third-party apps requiring higher usage limits...Not all third-party apps will be charged, as the policy is based on usage levels, and some noncommercial, accessibility-focused apps can also continue with free access, the company said. Reddit also noted that API access will remain free for moderator tools and bots.

WHY ARE SUBREDDITS PROTESTING THIS CHANGE?
Reddit's API changes have caused outrage — as many Redditors say they are concerned about losing long-used third-party resources. Popular third party apps, including Apollo and Reddit Is Fun, have already announced plans to shut down at the end of the month due to costs of the API changes — with Apollo developer Christian Selig estimating fees would total about $20 million a year.

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